Recommendations for traveling in Asia?

[pentapus]

Hi, I am in the middle of planning for a trip to Asia this fall. A friend of mine who spent a year teaching English in China and who studied Chinese for her degree is heading back as a tourist. I actually don't know yet if we will be spending much time in China. Plans are still tentative but may include: India, Japan, South Korea, China, and any place where a familiarity with Mandarin might be useful.

Does anyone have any suggestions of places to visit or things to do? General advice on traveling in the region is also helpful!

Comments

[cimorene]

My favorite tourist day in Japan was a visit to Nara, the early medieval capital of Japan. There's a historical palace and some very old temples and shrines, including a Daibutsu (gigantic Buddha statue), and there are tame deer that wander the streets of the city. You can pet them and feed them.

Also, Kyoto is a beautiful urban environment where you can see the occasional geisha or maiko performance for tourists (fan dances and things like that) and a tremendous number of beautiful shrines and temples including Kinkaku-Ji (a gold-encrusted Buddhist temple), Heian Jingu (a gigantic red-painted Shinto shrine), and Kiyomizu-dera (a somewhat elevated temple surrounded by a lot of really beautiful nature).

[pentapus]

Ooh, thank you for the recs. They sound beautiful. I have been to Kinkaku-ji during a brief visit to a friend studying abroad, but there was so much more I didn't get to see.

[everbright]

Sorry, I can't be of any help. I can be totally jealous though. WOO! ASIA TRIP!

[pentapus]

Haha. That's fair! Thanks for the cheerleading. :)